STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Penn State Altoona women's basketball senior guard Finnley Christine (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) became the Lady Lions' all-time leading scorer during Wednesday night's game at Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Franciscan University, but the Lady Barons overcame a fourth quarter deficit to defeat Penn State Altoona 69-64 in the Finnegan Fieldhouse.

Entering the game in need of 10 points to set a new record for career points with the Penn State Altoona women's basketball program, Christine finished with 12 points to move into first place on the Lady Lions' all-time scoring list, passing former guard Courtney Carroll (2007-11) and her total of 1,191 career points. Christine now holds down the top spot on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,194 points and counting.

Penn State Altoona (10-7, 8-5 AMCC) led by as many as 14 points during the second half of Wednesday's game, and the Lady Lions took a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter. But Franciscan (7-11, 5-8 AMCC) mounted a furious comeback in the game's final period, outscoring Penn State Altoona 25-8 to rally for the victory.

Sydney Snyder (New Enterprise, PA/Northern Bedford) led the Lady Lions in scoring with 16 points to go along with three rebounds. Alexis Cannistraci (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) scored 15 points and also finished with three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

Kaley Strittmatter (Williamsburg, PA/Penn Cambria) contributed eight points, four rebounds, and three assists, and Paige Burk (Claysburg, PA/Claysburg-Kimmel) tied the game-highs with seven assists and three steals to go along with six points and four rebounds. Christine secured a team-high seven rebounds and also distributed a pair of assists.

Franciscan's Abby Baierl and Estelle Leon tied for the game-high in scoring, putting up 18 points each. Leon also grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds, and Angela Starre and Kelsey Scott-Avery scored eight points apiece.

Two three-pointers from Snyder, a layup from Strittmatter, and a free throw by Christine helped Penn State Altoona to a 9-7 advantage by the 6:23 mark of the first quarter. But an 8-0 run by Franciscan, capped by Baierl's layup at 3:19, gave the home team a 15-9 lead. Later in the quarter, layups from Starre and Leon helped the Lady Barons to a 21-13 advantage by the period's end.

Franciscan started the second quarter with a three-pointer from Starre that gave the Lady Barons a 24-13 advantage. But Penn State Altoona won the quarter by a seven-point margin, getting back in the game by halftime. Layups from Christine and Burk midway through the period made it a two-point game, 27-25, and Snyder's layup at 3:28 cut Franciscan's lead to one, 31-30. Kassidy Sorichetti (Halifax, PA/Halifax) made a pair of free throws at the 1:02 mark to give Penn State Altoona a 36-35 lead, but Baierl's jump shot with seven seconds left in the half put Franciscan back on top by the intermission.

The Lady Lions posted a big 20-7 scoring advantage during the third quarter. Christine's basket at 8:42 put her team back in front, 40-39. Another Snyder three-pointer and a Cannistraci layup helped Penn State Altoona to a four-point lead, and Christine's layup and foul shot put the Lady Lions up 48-41. Two buckets from Burk and one apiece from Strittmatter and Cannistraci extended Penn State Altoona's lead to 56-42, and the Lady Lions headed into the fourth quarter with a 56-44 advantage.

But Franciscan reversed its fortune in the fourth quarter by answering Penn State Altoona's lopsided third quarter with a 25-8 scoring advantage in the game's last period. Baierl's three-pointer at 8:20 brought Franciscan's deficit back into single digits, 58-50, and she hit another trey at 6:59 to cut Penn State Altoona's lead to four, 58-54. Leon's layup at 5:09 tied the score at 59, and Scott-Avery's three at 3:54 gave Franciscan a 62-61 lead.

Baierl connected from beyond the arc again at 2:15 to make it a four-point game, but Cannistraci responded with a layup and foul shot 24 seconds later to bring Penn State Altoona back to within one. But Franciscan got a jumper from Cianna Vaughan with 54 seconds left, then added two free throws by Leon with 18 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Franciscan's fourth quarter comeback was powered by a 5-for-9 performance from three-point range during the period. Penn State Altoona was unable to match the home team on offense, shooting just 3-for-11 from the field in the fourth quarter.

Penn State Altoona women's basketball returns to the Adler Arena this Saturday, February 1 for a home game against AMCC opponent Medaille College at 4:00 p.m. The date is also marked as Sideline Cancer Day, with representatives from The Griffith Family Foundation on hand to help raise cancer awareness.